In lighting devices that employ light-emitting diodes (LED) for illumination, red LED chip(s) and blue LED chip(s) are commonly utilized in combination to emit light in that the red LED chip(s) and blue LED chip(s) are electrically connected to a thermistor. The resistance of the thermistor varies as ambient temperature increases. This variation in resistance of the thermistor adjusts an electric current that flows through the red LED chip(s) and blue LED chip(s), thereby adjusting the brightness of the light emitted by the red LED chip(s) and blue LED chip(s) to compensate for the lumen decay of LED chips.
However, thermistors typically come in the form of surface mount technology (SMT) and thus require a reflow process to be mounted on a printed circuit board. Moreover, SMT-type thermistors need to be disposed between the edges of two electrodes of opposite polarities to allow the anode and cathode of the thermistor to be electrically coupled to the two electrodes of opposite polarities. This requirement severely constrains the design of the printed circuit board. On the other hand, SMT-type thermistors tend to have relatively large size (in the order of millimeters). Given the miniaturization of lighting devices down to the order of millimeters, it becomes difficult if not impossible to package conventional thermistors inside a carrier component. This is hindrance to the miniaturization of lighting devices.
In view of the above, the present disclosure aims to provide a solution to address the long-felt need of the industry.